Humanitas Prize sets film, TV finalists

'Descendants,' 'Hugo' up for feature honors

Oscar-nominated pics “The Descendants” and “Hugo” were named finalists in the feature-film category for the 38th annual Humanitas kudos, to be presented Sept. 14.

The two pics were joined by “The Conspirator” and “Shame” in competition for the $10,000 prize.

In the Sundance feature category, the finalists are 2012 festival fave “Beasts of the Southern Wild,” “Luv” and “Middle of Nowhere,” while the documentary nominees are “Buck,” Crime After Crime,” “I Am” and “Serving Life.”

Episodes of “Blue Bloods,” “Grey’s Anatomy,” “Parenthood” and “Rescue Me” made the final four for hourlong television, while “The Big C,” “The Middle” and “Modern Family” constituted the top trio for halfhour shows.

For 90-minute projects, the Humanitas finalists are HBO’s “Cinema Verite” and two Hallmark presentations, “Beyond the Blackboard” and “Have a Little Faith.”

Two honorees were named for children’s programming: Disney Channel’s “Radio Rebel” for live action and the Hub’s “Pound Puppies” for animation.

In addition, UCLA’s Tamlin Hall won the David & Lynn Angell fellowship in comedy writing, while USC’s Caitlin Parrish did the same for drama.

“They made us laugh and cry and think,” Humanitas exec director Cathleen Young said of the finalists. “They show us where we’ve been and where we need to go as a society. They inspire hope where there is only despair, they ignite a yearning for justice against a multitude of social ills. A thriving, democratic society needs its storytellers.”